The Cockfight: A Casebook

by Alan Dundes (Editor)

Originating more than 2500 years ago, cockfighting is one of the oldest documented sports in the world.  It has continued to flourish despite bans against it in many countries.  In The A Casebook , folklorist Alan Dundes brings together a diverse array of writing on this male-dominated ritual.
    Vivid descriptions of cockfights from Puerto Rico, Tahiti, Ireland, Spain, Brazil, and the Philippines complement critical commentaries, from the fourth-century reflections of St. Augustine to contemporary anthropological and psychoanalytic interpretations.  The various essays discuss the intricate rules of the cockfight, the ethical question of pitting two equally matched roosters in a fight to the death, the emotional involvement of cockfighters and fans, and the sexual implications of the sport.  The result is an enlightening collection for anthropologists, folklorists, sociologists, and psychologists, as well as followers of this ancient blood sport.

Genres: Folklore

302 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1994

About the author

Alan Dundes was a folklorist at the University of California, Berkeley. His work was said to have been central to establishing the study of folklore as an academic discipline. He wrote 12 books, both academic and popular, and edited or co-wrote two dozen more. One of his most notable articles was called "Seeing is Believing" in which he indicated that Americans value the sense of sight more than the other senses.

Reviews

[Mary Overton]

From the Preface:
"The aim of this case book is to sample some of the scholarship which has sought to describe and analyze the cockfight. Sources selected range from chapters in fictional novels to analytic essays which first appeared in professional anthropology and folklore journals. The goal is to give the reader some idea of the nature of cockfighting in a wide variety of cultural contexts as well as possible clues as to the meaning(s) of the cockfight as a traditional game/sport." pg. vii

From St. Augustine, De Ordine (About Order):
"Suddenly we noticed barnyard cocks beginning a bitter fight just in front of the door. We chose to watch. For what do the eyes of lovers [of truth and beauty] not encompass; where do they not search through to see beauteous reason signaling something thence? - reason which rules and governs all things, the knowing and the unknowing things, and which attracts her eager followers in every way and wherever she commands that she be sought. Whence indeed and where can she not give a signal? - as was to be seen in those fowls: the lowered heads stretched forward, neck-plumage distended, the lusty thrusts, and such wary parryings; and in every motion of the irrational animals, nothing unseemly - precisely because another Reason from on high rules over all things. Finally, the very law of the victor: the proud crowing, the almost perfectly orbed arrangement of the members, as if in haughtiness of supremacy. But the sign of the vanquished: hackles plucked from the neck; in carriage and in cry, all bedraggled - and for that very reason, somehow or other, beautiful and in harmony with nature's laws." pg. 4

From H.B. Kimberley Cook, "Cockfighting on the Venezuelan Island of Margarita: A Ritualized Form of Male Aggression":
"During the course of my fieldwork, I met individually with three close male informants who answered my questions about practices I observed in the rink. Some of our discussions dealt with the sexual symbolism of cockfighting. For example, when I asked why my presence [as a woman] at the rink was unwelcome, one informant said: 'It's not that you are unwelcome; the problem is that when you try to participate it just does not work. For example, when a cockfighter want to increase the amount of a previously made bet, he will provoke his opponent into doing so by yelling: "abre las piernas" ("spread your legs"). But you see, if they yell that at you, it doesn't come out the same. It's embarrassing and awkward and doesn't mean the same thing.' When I asked my informant what it means when a man yells this expression to a betting partner, he said: 'It just means, "come on, bet higher."' I was also curious as to why women don't pelear gallos (fight cocks). I was told: 'When men and women pelear gallos, and the woman loses, she ends up pregnant.' The proper expression is to 'echar una pelea,' which with its more neutral terms means simply to cockfight.
"A few of my informants mentioned a belief that the behavior of fighting cocks is affected by the moon. During a certain time of the month they are supposedly 'weaker' than in the rest of the month. Although my informants did not elaborate on this point, I suggest that a clear association can be made between a perceived cycle of aggression in fighting cock behavior and the human female menstrual cycle." pp. 237-8

From Alan Dundes's introduction to his essay, "Gallus as Phallus: A Psychoanalytic Cross-Cultural Consideration of the Cockfight as Fowl Play":
"Since my analysis of the cockfight presumes the existence of an unconscious element in the participation and enjoyment of cockfighting, I would hardly expect most cockfighters to be consciously aware of this element. Moreover, I would not expect them necessarily to accept my explanation of the cockfight. The whole point of folklore in general, and the cockfight as an instance of folklore, is to allow individuals to do or say things they could not otherwise do or say. If people actually knew what they were doing, e.g., in telling a joke, they could not participate in that activity, e.g. tell that joke. It is in the final analysis precisely the unconscious content of folklore (as fantasy) which allows it to function as it does, that is, as a socially sanctioned outlet for the expression of taboo thoughts and acts. That is why making the unconscious content conscious is always intellectually dangerous and why it inevitably encounters powerful resistance." pp. 241-2

[Phil Dela Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly informative. A great introductory book on the deadly of game of cockfighting. Of particular interest were the essays that discussed cockfighting in different cultures, particularly in the Philippines.

Dundes’s essay wrapped up the book quite strongly, though I wish there were more similar essays that employed a theoretical analysis on the cockfight. Perhaps a study on the role and dangers of femininity in cockfighting is due since a common theme in the collection talked about how the presence of a woman is perilous to the cock’s virility and fighting ability.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains Dundes' critique of Geertz.